Legal

IPA member agencies have access to our free legal advice line, supported by a team of experienced, in-house advertising and employment lawyers.

Email us with your enquiry

• Advertising law: [email protected]
• Employment law: [email protected]

We deal with a high volume of legal enquiries, so we run a first-come, first-served system. We aim to answer straightforward enquiries within 24 hours. More complex enquiries (including contract work) will take longer, but we'll let you know what to expect and keep you updated.

Please see here some examples of topics that we can assist agencies with.

About us and what we can help with

We have a small team of experienced in-house lawyers who are dedicated to supporting IPA member agencies. We help you understand the legal and regulatory requirements related to your client work as well as employment law issues that may arise in your agency’s role as an employer.

We also publish guidance and commentary on topical issues affecting the advertising industry. Several team members sit on industry committees (including CAP and BCAP) and we regularly liaise with regulators, government departments and other trade bodies on regulatory developments that impact our members.

Advertising law

We advise agencies on legal issues in their advertising work for clients across all media, including social media, influencer marketing, TV, VOD, radio, OOH, print and promotions. We’re happy to review concepts, scripts, storyboards, pitches and presentations at an early stage. Prevention is better than cure.

Common issues we advise on

• CAP and BCAP Code compliance:
• misleading advertising
• HFSS and LHF restrictions
• environmental and sustainability claims
• competitions and promotions
• pricing claims
• restricted products
• intellectual property rights, including:
• infringement risks
• red flag IP clearance
• protection of agency output (pitches, deliverables etc.)
• ambush marketing
• using AI in client work
• contracts, including:
• client services agreements
• production and artist agreements
• influencer agreements
• privacy and data protection
• production issues
• media buying/planning issues
• liaising with the ASA, CAP, BCAP and Clearcast
• ASA complaints
• pre-litigious disputes

Employment law

We also advise on certain employment law issues, including:

• disciplinary, grievance and absence management issues
• redundancy, restructures and other dismissals
• flexible working including hybrid and remote working
• parental and family leave rights
• equalities law
• TUPE
• contractual issues and staff policies

Legal training

We host legal seminars, both online and in person. Please see recordings of previous sessions, available to members.

We also offer LegRegs, a legal and regulatory advertising basics qualification delivered through law firm IPA Lewis Silkin.

Depending on capacity, we may also be able to offer bespoke training sessions for agencies. Please contact us if you’d like to discuss this.

Useful templates

Members can download a range of legal templates, including, for example:

• IPA/ISBA Creative Services Framework Agreement
• All Client/Agency Agreements
• Services Agreement
• Influencer Agreement
• Competition T&Cs
• AI policy
• IPA/APA/ISBA PIBS Production Agreement (Part 1 and Part 2)
• All Production Templates
• Employment Contract
• Consultancy Agreement
• Flexible Working Policy
• All Employment Templates

Additional templates are available in the Knowledge Centre. If you can’t find what you need, please email us and we may be able to help.

Legal Guidance Notes

Our Knowledge Centre includes a wide range of legal guidance, alerts, newsletters and webinars.

Advertising Law

• Guidance / Alerts
• Newsletters
• Webinars

Employment Law

• Guidance / Alerts
• Webinars and seminars
• IR35
• TUPE

Public Affairs

• Industry Consultations
• Useful summaries

Get up to speed on these key topics

• HFSS
• AI
• Consumer protection
• Privacy & data protection
• Employment Rights Act 2025
• Inclusion and wellbeing
• TUPE
• Working arrangements

Join our groups

If you are an in‑house lawyer at a member agency, you are welcome to join the IPA Lawyers’ Group. The group meets quarterly to discuss topical legal and regulatory issues and holds an annual dinner in Q4. We also set up and run other specialist legal and regulatory groups. For example, our HFSS Working Group which receives information by email on HFSS/LHF issues.

Please e-mail [email protected] if you are interested in joining one or more of these groups. 

Important information

• We provide legal advice under the laws of England and Wales only.
• We are a small team and not resourced to provide an ‘end-to-end’ solution for all legal issues.
• Our advice is provided for IPA member agencies only, and not for clients and other any third parties, including non-member agencies within the same group as a member-agency, or clients.
• Our employment law advice is provided for member agencies as employers: we cannot provide advice to individual agency staff.
• The IPA legal team also fulfils a public affairs role by representing members' interests to regulators and Government and works alongside the Advertising Association. 

Each of the IPA’s Legal team is an English-qualified solicitor, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The IPA is not itself authorised or regulated by the SRA, therefore we are not required to, and do not, have indemnity insurance via the SRA to protect clients in case something goes wrong. Our services are, however, covered under the IPA’s professional indemnity insurance policy.

Should you have a complaint about a member of the IPA’s Legal team, please email Richard Lindsay (Legal & Public Affairs Director) at [email protected] or Tom Mott (Director of Member Services) at [email protected].

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